THE STORY 



OF THK 



FIRST DEFENDERS. 



District of Columbia, 
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts. 



<« 



Written and Compiled by 

OMRADE GRANVILLE FERNALD. 



ILLUSTRATED. 






I HI.ISHKK, 




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E 501 
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Copy 1 



THE STORY 



()!•' Till. 



FIRST DEFENDERS. 



District of Columbia, 
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts. 



Written and Compiled by 

COMRADE GRANVILLE FERNALD. 



ILLUSTRATED. 



WASHINGTON, I'. C; 

Clarence B. Davis, Pi blisheb, 
1892. 






j-|oU" 



\ • 



THE FIRST DHFHNDHRS. 



It is an ll old, old story," yet like the Story of the 
Redemption of Man, is ever and forever new. It is the story 
of a people enlightened by the lessons of history and devoted 
to the cultivation of science and the peaceful industries which 
rendered them superior to the conditions of the false nobility 
of the Old World, the sham chivalry of the New, and the 
forced servility of an}- class or race on the earth. 

Like the story of the minute-men of Concord and Lexing- 
ton, the ride of Paul Revere, and the uprising of the infant 
colonies to meet the attacks of the armies of Great Britain, 
which is rehearsed in prose and verse with grateful interest 
and renewed zest in these later years, so the wonderful story 
of the awaking of the giant to the insidious designs of a 
hateful element of our political society, the bursting of the 
bands of contentment and ease, the assertion of the right of 
free manhood and the leap to arms, the direful conflict, the 
repulse of liberty's foes, and the conquest of a great, brave 
people and their restoration to peace, progress, wealth and 
happiness yet moves the pulse of the patriot with growing 
intensity, and will fire the free hearts of Americans with zeal 
for liberty and with love for advancing manhood while the 
world endures. Pennsylvania and Massachusetts ! What 
pagans of praise have been sung to thy glory ! How have 
the historian and the poet immortalized the valor of thy sons 
and the devotedness of thy daughters ! Shall we ever forget — 
shall our country ever cease to remember, to its latest 
generation, the heroic service ye rendered her in the hour 
of trial and danger? Can the men and women, the boys 
and the girls of this or any succeeding age fail to value truly 
the blessing of a saved Union, erst in peril from treacherous 
foes in her own borders, saved to bless the very enemies of 
her existence, and to travel onward from glory to glory along 
the pathway of centuries of increasing Honor? 



4 The First Defenders. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Who were the " First Defenders" of the National Capital 
in the great crisis of 1861, in response to the call of the 
President of the United States for 75,000 volunteer troops? 
This is a question that has caused not a little controversy, 
and in the process of making up the records of services ren- 
dered to the country by patriotic men in different states or 
sections it is certain that some of the most devoted men in 
the armed service of the nation, to the number of several 
thousand, have been ignored or forgotten, and the great obli- 
gations under which the nation was placed by their active 
efforts to save the Federal Capital from falling into the clutch 
of the conspiring hordes of traitors have certainly been lost 
sight of. There is a reasonable explanation for this fact, 
which is the occasion of a feeling that unintentional injustice 
has been done in some directions, and the present time seems 
opportune for the purpose of restoring to such as have not 
shared fully in the awards of praise, and the substantial tokens 
of popular appreciation properly belonging to the faithful 
servants of the nation, their rightful rank and position in the 
noble company who hold in so high esteem the title of "First 
Defenders." 

In the sudden and pressing mutations of plans and events 
at the first shock of armed and overt hostility to the govern- 
ment, a tragedy occurred which in importance at the time 
had the effect to obscure and overshadow all other movements 
in behalf of the Union, and to this time has held the mind 
of our people in emotion of reverential admiration of the 
heroism and fortitude displayed in one of the most critical 
periods of the Rebellion. I refer to the march of the Sixth 
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers through Baltimore on 
the 19th of April, 1861. 

Of this occurrence and the subsequent correspondence 
between the authorities of Massachusetts and the city of 
Baltimore, the touching request of Governor Andrew concern- 
ing sending home the remains of the martyred soldiers, and 



P* 4>. 



S3 







MR. R. J. BEALL. 



Addenda to District of Columbia Sketch. 

General E. C. Carrington raised eight companies of volun- 
teers in December, i860, and January, i86i t all afterwards 
mustered into the United States service as District Columbia 
volunteers, and known as "Carrington Guards." These 
recruits and those of other District volunteer companies were 
almost exclusively residents and natives of Maryland, Virginia 
and District of Columbia, and constituted a force of 3,500 
as staunch, incorruptible, alert friends of Abraham Lincoln 
and the Union as ever marched and fought under the Union 
flag. There is incontestable evidence existing in authentic 
documents and sworn statements that President Lincoln 
called for ten companies of District volunteers on April 9, 
1 86 1, for immediate service as United States volunteers, and 
these and one company besides were mustered into service, 
commencing on April 10. Company A, Washington Light 
Infantry, commanded by Captain Lemuel Towers, was sworn 
in on that day, and on the nth was on guard at Long 
Bridge ; and on the night of the 12th the Washington Light 
Infantry guarded the treasury, state department -and the 
white house. From the 10th to the 18th, when the first 
troops arrived from the north, the District troops guarded the 
public departments and property and every thoroughfare of 
approach to the Capital by land or water. Among surviving 
members of District volunteer companies of 1861, to whom 
reference may be had, are : Captain O. E. Duffy, Captain H. 
M. Knight, Rev. John D. Bradburn, Charles Lemon, A. N. 
Thompson, George C. Harris, Thomas Lucas, J. Frank 
Lucas, M. J. Sauter, S. H. Moore, John T. May, George 
Seitz, Enoch Edmonston, John A. Anandale, E. W. Davis, 
M. B. Gorman, Josiah Gray, William H. Hines, Luther H. 
Posey, James H. Richards, Henry T. Wood and hundreds 
more still residing in Washington. 



The Fit st Dcfcndei r. S 

many othei thiiigs qj £ full reports are 

given in the first volume of the official records of the War, 
but as to the service ol any other troops or their armed con- 
tact with treason and violence of disunionists, at or before this 
occurrence, no word or reference is found. ( me object of this 
unpretentious effort is to present the real status of the 
patriotic associations who each and all are worthy of the 
unique name chosen to designate them as entitled to a special 
place in the regards of the nation. 

Immediately upon the election of Abraham Lincoln the 
arming and mustering of the militia of South Carolina com- 
menced, and was followed by similar demonstrations in other 
states. In no state of the South, however, existed a more 
dangerous conspiracy against the government than in the city 
of Washington and among the members of Congress from 
the southern states. General Winfield Scott, a patriot "with- 
out fear and without reproach," was well aware of the dis- 
loyalty that burned in many hearts hitherto trusted and 
honored. The soul of the grand old man was pierced with 
sorrow to feel that the flag he had defended and carried into 
the enemies country in former years was being insulted, ami 
in danger from traitorous hands. 

On the 31st of December, i860, the political situation had 
become so alarming that the Commander of the Army re- 
solved to take immediate steps to strengthen the armed force 
in the city for the purpose of sustaining the dignity of the 
government, preserving public order and protecting the 
sacred property of the nation. A few enlisted men of ordnance 
occupied the arsenal, a small force of marines guarded the 
navy yard and two men had the care of the Columbian 
Armory. 

On the evening of the last day of the year a serious con- 
ference upon the condition of affairs was held between 
General Scott and Colonel Charles I'. Stone of the regular 
army. The aged general expressed much solicitude concern- 
ing the want of military strength in the Capital. It was the 
opinion of Colonel Stone that two-thirds of the "fighting 



6 V7/r First Defenders. 

stock ' ' of the District would stand for the defense of the 
government. He suggested the lack of stability of the gov- 
ernment, the apparent absence of any fixed policy, and that 
there was no rallying point for such as desired to be of ser- 
vice to assemble upon. As the conference was about to close, 
the General said to Colonel Stone: "You say these people 
have no rallying point. Make yourself that rallying point." 
On the following morning the President appointed Colonel 
Stone Colonel on the staff and Inspector-General of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. 

Correspondence with a large number of leading citizens 
and personali nterviews with others resulted in the raising 
of many companies of volunteers, ioo men to each company. 

One of the first and most influential among the pioneer 
defenders of the Capital was General E. C. Carrington, who 
raised a company and commanded it through the three 
months emergency. 

This action was the first intimation to the people that a 
"mixture of force 11 was to take the place of the policy of 
conciliation pure and simple to that time prevailing. The 
response of the Union men of the District was prompt and 
mightily stimulated the hopes of the loyal men in Congress 
and the Union-loving people of the District. 

The new companies purchased their own uniforms, paid 
for their armories and rations, the government furnishing 
only arms, equipments and ammunition. 

By February 2 2d the volunteer force, consisting in part of 
the old companies of District militia, recruited to the max- 
imum number, had increased to twenty-two companies, and 
paraded through the public streets in honor of the day, 
giving a good impression of the resources for defense pos- 
sessed by the government. " It was this force," says Colonel 
Stone, "which on the 4th of March, 1861, together with a 
handful of regular troops which General Scott had been able 
to assemble (two batteries of artillery, one company engineers 
and about 200 cavalry), rendered practicable and safe the 
quiet inauguration of the constitutionally-elected President. 



The First Defenders. 7 

U A battalian of District troops guarded, under Colonel 
Tate, the position where the President took the oath of office 
and made his inaugural address. District of Columbia 
volunteer cavalry guarded the carriage in which the two 
Presidents rode, while the engineer company ( I >uane) marched 
before the carriage and District volunteers behind it. 




GENERAL E. C. CARRINGTON. 



11 District volunteer riflemen occupied the windows of the 
Capitol overlooking the ceremony of inauguration and also 
occupied the roofs of the houses along Pennsylvania avenue 
through which the procession passed. 

11 During the month of March, [861, these volunteers were 
active in drilling and perfecting their discipline, and, although 
not yet mustered into the service, most of them held them- 
selves constantly ready for service in case of need. The case 
of need soon came. Before the firing of the first hostile shot 
against Fort Sumter the condition of affairs at the Capital 
rendered it necessary for the government to have troops for 
the protection of the public departments and the muster 



8 T/ie First Defenders. 

in of four companies then eight companies and soon all the 
District volunteers. This muster in commenced on the ioth 
of April, 1 86 1. 

"Thirty-five companies, or 3,500 men were organized and 
mustered in from April ioth to 26th. They guarded the 
public buildings and property. The}-, at the same time, 
guarded the bridges and roads giving entrance to the city, 
holding a line of about 18 miles in length when Washington 
was cut off from communication with the rest of the country. 
They seized and guarded the supply of flour which made bread 
for the people of the District and for the earliest arrival of 
outside troops. They occupied the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road between Washington and Annapolis Junction and thus 
opened the way for the arrival of friendly troops. The)' were 
the advance guard in the first movement into Virginia when 
Alexandria was captured. The}' captured the first uniformed 
prisoners taken from the enemy, and when the Capital of the 
country had been rendered fully secure by the arrival of 
masses of troops from man}- great states of the North and 
Eest, they marched up the line of the Potomac to Harper's 
Ferry to watch the Capital at a good distance from it, and, 
although the term of service for which some of them had 
enlisted expired while the}- were in the field and in face of 
the enemy, the}' remained without any question as to the 
time, although I did not insult them by so much as aking 
them if the)' were willing to stay. 

"I firmly believe the}' saved- the nation from the disgrace 
and calamity of an abandonment of the Capital by the con- 
stituted authorities of the time." 

The writer has read a diary of one of the officers of a 
company of District volunteers and it shows a record of con- 
stant duty for three months of service "all day," or "half 
day and night," at the Long Bridge, or Navy Yard, or 
Arsenal, or a trip with a guard of 40 or 50 men, to protect 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, to Annapolis Junction. It 
was during a turn of night duty at Long Bridge, Lieutenant 
Magruder being in command of a battery, while the rebel 



T//c First Defenders. 9 

pickets were at the other end of the bridge, the Lieutenant 
requested Captain LoefRlei and Lieutenant Reese to accom- 
pany him to a point beyond the center of the bridge when, 
excusing himself for a few moments, he left his escort and 
going forward into the darkness deserted his command and 
was next heard from as a General commanding rebel troops 
down in Virginia. 

In concluding onr sketch of the service of the District vol- 
unteers it is but just that we make honorable mention of 
several well-known citizens of Washington who were fore- 
most in inciting the minds of union men to enlist. Mr. R. 
J. Beall, a comrade and Past Commander of Charles P. Stone, 
Post No. 1 1, Department of Potomac, and who has filled several 
honorable and responsible offices in the Department, was one 
of the very first to respond as a minute-man to the advertise- 
ment of General Carrington early in December, i860, to raise 
eight companies to sustain the union. His Company A was 
the first organized for that object. Captain William Nally's 
was the second company organized for the defense of the 
Union. Other companies were raised before the New Year, 
officers elected, and all under arms as minute-men. Wash. 
B. Williams, one of General Carrington's lieutenants, en- 
listed at the first and gave all his energy and influence to the 
work. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 

The people of Pennsylvania, like those of all free states of 
the North, were reluctant to believe that the political leaders 
of the South really intended to precipitate the country into a 
civil war. The menaces and taunts from that section of our 
people were regarded as so much froth and banter. When, 
therefore, months before the commencement of real warfare 
in April 1861, the military forces of South Carolina made 
imposing preparations to besiege and capture a starving gar- 



io The First Defenders. 

rison of about 60 United States soldiers in a government 
fortress, the public mind became prepared to realize the peril 
which overt secession was threatening to accomplish in widen- 
ing the black gulf yawning between the sections and force 
them to a general contest for supremacy and power. Says 
Lossing : " In Georgia, as in Virginia, and most of the other 
slave-labor states, there were 'Minute-men,' ' Vigilance Com- 
mittees,' ' Defense Committees,' 'Brotherhoods,' ' Knights of 
the Golden Circle,' 'Southern Rights' and other associations 
all working in the interest of the conspirators." A leading 
southern paper said : ' ' Wherever the minute-men have had an 
organization those counties have voted, by large majorities, for 
immediate secession." The annals of that period show that 
the mass of the southern people were forced into rebellion by 
"dragooning, bullying, threats, jeers and sneers." Said the 
same journal : "Besides, the towns and cities have been 
flooded with sensation dispatches and inflammatory rumors 
manufactured in Washington City for the especial occasion. 

' 'There has never been as much lying and bullying practiced 
in the same length of time, since the destruction of Sodom 
and Gomorrah. The fault has been at Washington City ; 
from that cess-pool have emanated all the abominations that 
ever cursed a free people." Washington City is described 
by a noted writer of that time as "the voltaic pile of active 
treason, to be found in the persons of the congregated con- 
spirators in Congress." 

A conspicuous incident which occurred the latter part of 
January, i860, illustrates the situation of affairs in Alabama 
and Louisiana. Secretary of the Treasury, General John A. 
Dix, had sent a special agent of the Treasury Department to 
secure from seizure by the rebels, the revenue cutters Lewis 
Cass at Mobile, and Robert Met lelland at New Orleans. The 
L ass was already in the possession of the authorities of Ala- 
bama. Hastening to New Orleans he found the McClelland^ 
and in a letter to the commanding officer, enclosing one from 
the Secretary of the Treasury, he directed him to proceed 
immediately to New York. The order was disobeved. The 



The First Defenders. 



i i 



fact was telegraphed to the Secretary, who was also informed 
that the Collector of the Port sustained the action of the 
rebel. The Secretary instantly, by telegraph, ordered the ar- 
rest of the rebel Captain of the McClelland in connection 
with which he uttered the famous command : u Ij any one 
attempts to haul down the American flag shoot him on the 




CAPTAIN JAMES M'KNIGHT. 



spot." The conspirators at New Orleans who controlled the 
telegraph did not allow this dispatch to pass. The revenue 
cutter fell into the hands of the insurgents, and within two 
days the National Mint and the Custom House, with a large 
quantity of of coin and bullion ($536,000), were seized by the 
state. News of this event and the order of General Dix went 
over the land like wildfire l>v telegraph and newspapers, thril- 
ling loyal hearts, and convincing the people generally that 
the time for temporizing with insane rebellion had, on the 
part of the government, forever passed by. 

While these events were transpiring in the extreme South, 
were the people of the North quiescent and deceived as to the 



12 



The First Defenders. 



probable result of such demonstrations ? Let us see. Twelve 
free states as early as January put themselves on record as re- 
pudiating the demands of secessionists, and all the others 
wheeled nobly into line when the guns of Sumter summoned 
them to the country's defense. Among the first of the loyal 
Governors to announce his hostilitv to secession was Andrew 



*t fe. 




CAPTAIN J. B. SELHEIMER. 



G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania. His inaugural address delivered 
on January 15, 1861, " resounded with the ring of the true 
metal of loyalty and positiveness of character which he dis- 
played throughout the war that ensued." He pledged "the 
faith and power of Pennsylvania " to help put down the 
insurrection, and counselled the strongest and most encour- 
aging measures of the legislature to give support and assur- 
ance to the general government, What were the militia of 
the state doing in the mean time ? The historian has tersely 
described the events of the time in various portions of the 
state, showing that the spirit of the fathers of '76 still ani- 
mated the souls of the children. 



The First Defenders, 



J 3 



The Ringgold Artillery, of Reading, Pa., organized in 1850 
by Captain James McKnight, was still under the command of 

that officer. It was equipped with four six-pounder brass 
field pieces and caissons, with full equipments of artillerists, 
including sabres, and mustered over two hundred men, well 
drilled — the pride of the city of Reading. It had partici- 




CAPTAIN EDMUND M'DONALD. 



pated in several volunteer encampments : one at Easton of a 
week's duration, where it was entertained by Kx-Governor 
Reeder and other leading citizens. Early in January Major- 
General William H. Keim had advised Captain McKnight that 
the services of his company would probably soon be needed 
and counselled him to hold them in readiness for immediate 
service. From that time forward frequent and almost daily 
drills were practiced 

An incident connected with the first call of President Lin- 
coln for troops to save the Capital from the secessionists is a 
Striking illustration of the military spirit tell by members of 
this company. On the day the dispatch announcing the at- 



14 The First Defenders. 

tack on Fort Sumter was received by the Ringgold Artillery 
the company was drilling at a distance from the city. "The 
effect of the news was electrical. All were impatient for the 
call to move at once to the defense of the flag. ' ' 

The Logan Guards, of Lewistown, organized in 1858, com- 
manded by Captain John B. Selheimer, numbered but twenty- 
six men, but was meeting for parade and drill once a month 
and had since its organization participated in annual volun- 
teer encampments at Lewistown and Huntington, under the 
command of Major-General William H. Keim, also in the 
ceremonies incident to the inauguration of Governor Curtin, 
rn January, and in the reception of Mr. Lincoln, President- 
elect, on the 2 2d of February, on the memorable occasion of 
his journey to the National Capital. 

The National Light Infantry, of Pottsville, was one of the 
notable military companies of the state, and its organization 
dated back to 1831. It had been successively under the 
command of Captains Deane, Shoenfelter, Beard, Bland, Pott, 
and at the time of which we write was ably commanded by 
Captain Edmund McDonald. 

The Washington Artillery, of Pottsville, organized in July, 
1845, under the command of Captain James Nagle, had an 
honorable record for distinguished service in the Mexican 
War under General Scott as Co. B, 1st Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers. It had always cherished the esprit rfu eorps and pride 
of its history, and studiously maintained its organization, 
being continually recruited from the vigorous young men of 
the locality. It formed a part of the military column which 
participated in the inauguration of Governor Curtin in January 
1 86 1, under the command of Captain James Wren, who had 
been elected as successor to Captain Nagle in 1859. ^ * s de- 
serving of special note that in response to the patriotic address 
of the Governor the company tendered its services to the 
government through Governor Curtin, in case they should be 
needed. 

The events in Washington and in the South during the 
winter and spring of that year aroused the military ardor of 



The First Defenders. 



i5 



Captain Wren and his spirited company to a high degree of 
anxiety and indignant expectation of the call to arms, which 
came on the evening of April 15th, the regular night for 
weekly drill. Immediate action was taken, and a formal 
tender of service was telegraphed to the Governor early the 




CAPTAIN JAMES WREN. 



next morning. At noon on the same day (April 1 6th) the 
Governor's acceptance was received, with orders to report at 
once at Harrisburg without arms or uniforms. ( obedience to 
this order compelled the company to leave in their armory, at 
Pottsville, ninety flint-lock muskets and an armament of six- 
pounder smooth-bore cannon and 103 U. S. regulation uni- 
forms, their only equipment for defense consisting of revolvers 
and sabres. On the morning of the [8th of April five com- 
panies rendezvoused at Harrisburg were hastily sworn into the 
service of the government and hurriedly took the cars via the 



1 6 The First Defenders. 

Northern Central Railroad for Baltimore and Washington, 
under urgent orders from the Secretary of War, Honorable 
Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, who had promptly accepted 
their tender of service. This movement of five companies 
was in response to the President's call for 75,000 troops, and 
constituted the vanguard of sixteen full regiments, the quota 
assigned to Pennsylvania in the requistion on the Governor 
of the state. Two regiments were wanted within three days. 

The Allen Guard, of Allentown, one of the companies which 
joined the others at Harrisburg, was under command of Captain 
Thomas B. Yeager and mustered about fifty men. 

There have been, and are probably now, persons who in 
their "innocence" of any correct knowledge of the times of 
which we are writing — ignorance would perhaps be a better 
word — profess to believe that all this parade and hastening of 
armed men from the North to the Capital was unnecessary 
and uncalled for by any exigency of the time. A coincidence 
of events between the 15th and 19th of April will show the 
necessity apparent in the urgent requisition of the Secretary 
of War for this large bod}- of volunteer soldiers ; a number 
larger than had ever before been enrolled at any one time in 
any emergency of the government. 

On April 17th the Ordinance of Secession was passed by 
the state of Virginia. On the 18th General Talliaferro, com- 
mander of the forces in southeastern Virginia, arrived at 
Norfolk with his staff and at once took measures to seize the 
Navy Yard and ships of war, being joined by the naval offi- 
cers who had abandoned their flag. The workmen in the 
yard, corrupted by disloyal officers and citizens, abandoned 
their work, and a train of circumstances were set in motion 
that culminated on the 20th in the scuttling and burning of 
nearly even' vessel, the destruction of many of the cannon 
and a large portion of the public buildings and contents'at the 
station. This was determined and accomplished by order of 
the Secretary of the Navy to keep it from the possession of 
the rebels, and because the government had not a force 
sufficient to protect or defend it. 



The First Defenders. 



17 



On the same day a large body of Virginians at Winchester 
and Charleston, Virginia, under Colonel Allen and Captain 
Ashley, consisting of infantry, artillery and cavalry, marched 
on Harper's Fern for the purpose of seizure of the United 
States Arsenal and munitions of war at that place ; and it 
was reported at Willard's Hotel, in Washington, that, having 




CAPTAIN THOMAS B. YEAGER. 



effected the capture of the Arsenal, it was intended to take 
possession of the rolling stock of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad and at once, on that very evening, proceed rapidly 
to Washington, and, aided by secessionists in the city, capture 
the seat of government, the President and other officials in 
the city, and seize the public buildings and archives for the 
Confederate government. But the timely intervention of 
Lieutenant Roger Jones, of the l\ V S. army, commanding a 
detachment of sixty unmounted dragoons, in addition to a 
small number of other guards on duty at the Arsenal, balked 
the designs of the insurgents, as when a large force from Hall- 
town were within twenty minutes march of the place Lieu- 




'it 



L 

I 




FLAG OF RINGGOLD ARTILLERY, 1861. 



The First Defenders, 19 

tenant Jones ordered the buildings to be set on fire, and they 
with nearly 15,000 muskets were destroyed. Within fifteen 
minutes after the firing of the buildings and the escape of 
Lieutenant Jones and his men across the bridge into Maryland 

900 Virginia Militia inarched into town and before the next 
day nearly 5,000 insurgents occupied the place. These are 
brief sketches of two important coincidences of the iSth of 
April, constituting a part of the program already matured 
for the capture of the Federal Capital by the secessionists of 
Virginia and Maryland. 

While Harper's Fern- was burning and the mob of Balti- 
more were obstructing the pathway of citizens through her 
midst, the rebel conspirators down South were violently rous- 
ing the passions of the people and inciting the cry : " On to 
Washington !" It resounded through all parts of the South 
and was re-echoed from mountain to plain by thousands who 
had been incited by lying pretences of leading traitors to 
arm themselves to strike at the heart of their mother, the 
government of the union of states. 

Our study of coincidences has led us away for a time from 
the theme of our " Story." 

We left five companies of Pennsylvania volunteer militia 
on board a train hastening towards an imperilled city. They 
were impatient of delay and rumors of danger and opposition 
to their progress caused apprehension and fear to possess some 
hearts. But the sturdy faith and the determination of the 
commanders of these companies to dare all perils for the sake 
of saving a country bore them up above the real belief of 
possibility of danger in passing through a city professedly 
peaceful and well disposed towards the friends of the govern- 
ment. The aggregate membership of the five companies was 
530 men and officers. Of the progress of the troops towards 
Washington, and the passage of Baltimore, a very graphic 
account is given the writer by Major James Wren, of Boyer- 
town, wdio commanded the Washington Artillery. 

"When we were about 18 miles from Baltimore we were 
informed by telegram that a mob was formed in Baltimore 



20 



The First Defenders. 



to stop our passage through the city. The officers of the dif- 
ferent companies held a meeting in the train with Captain 
James NcKnight in the chair. It was resolved unanimously 
to "go through Baltimore to Washington, let the result be 
what it may." We thought if we stopped for reinforcements, 
it would make the passage through Baltimore more difficult 




NICK B1DDLE. 



and would be an acknowledgment of the rebel strength. It 
was also decided that we would not go to the regular depot 
at Baltimore to get off the train, but would get off at the 
upper end of the city, and we got off a little above the 
Bolton station. When the mob found we had got off at the 
Bolton station they came up the street like a lot of wild 
wolves. There were many desperate-looking characters among 
them, armed with clubs, stones and brick-bats, all yelling 
like Indians. They cheered for Jeff. Davis and the Southern 
Confederacy, and when they reached us there were about 
2,500 of them in number. But to their suprise we formed in 



The Firs/ Defenders. 



21 



military column. The order 'forward, march,' was given, 

the police formed a line on each side of the troops. < Mi the 
march all kinds of insults were heaped upon us. Brick-bats 
and stones came from every direction, but the men had re- 
ceived instructions to make no signs. It was difficult to 
keep the men from using their pistols. On the march Cap- 




COLONEL O. C. BOSBYSHELL. 



tain Wren's servant, Nick Biddle, was hit on the head with 
a brick or stone and received a severe wound above the eye, 
which bled profusely. The mob raised the cry of "nigger 
in uniform !" and poor old Nick had to take it. His was 
the first blood shed in the war of 1861, saving that which 
was shed under Major Anderson at Fort Sumter. 

"We arrived in Washington about 7.30 i\ M. on the even- 
ing of April 18, 1861, and were received by Major McDowell 
in person and escorted to the capitol by order of the Secretary 
of War. The capitol was then lighted up and the rumor 
went out over the city that ' 15,000 troops had arrived from 



22 The First Defenders. 

Pennsylvania and three more trains expected hourly. ' When 
the news reached the War Department, the Secretary of War, 
General Simon Cameron, visited us in the capitol that night 
and gave us a warm welcome to the city of Washington. He 
said : ' Of all the days of my life this is the happiest, to know 
that Pennsylvania troops are the first to reach the capital. ' 

' ' Our first sabbath in the capitol we were visited by Presi- 
dent Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward. 

" The company was formed in open order when the com- 
mander was introduced to the President and Secretary. The 
captain then introduced his company to the President who 
stepped to the front of the company ana* said : ' Officers and 
soldiers of the Washington Artillery, I did not come here 
to make a speech ; the time for speechmaking has gone by, 
the time for action is at hand. I came here to give you a 
warm welcome to the city of Washington, and to shake hands 
with every officer and soldier in your company providing you 
grant me that privilege.' He then commenced on the right 
of the company and shook hands with all. Secretary Seward 
was called on to speak, but declined on account of time, but 
followed the President and shook hands with every one." 

Colonel Oliver C. Bosbyshell, the present director of the 
United States Mint, at Philadelphia, was a private in the 
Washington Artillery during the three months campaign, and, 
re-enlisting in the 48th regiment, received successive pro- 
motions to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment. 

In the first session of the 37th Congress Honorable James 
H. Campbell, a member of the House of Representatives from 
Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1861, submitted the following 
resolution which was unanimously adopted, viz : 

Resolved, That the thanks of the House are due and are 
hereby tendered to the five hundred and thirty soldiers from 
Pennsylvania who passed through the mob at Baltimore and 
reached Washington on the 18th day of April last for a de- 
fense of the National Capital. 



The First Defenders. 23 



MASSACHUSETTS. 

The first movement of Massachusetts towards a preparation 
for the crisis of war was initiated by Adjutant-General Schouler 
in December, i860. In his annual report to Governor N. P. 
Banks, suggesting that companies of militia should be re- 
cruited to the limit fixed by the law, one hundred men for 
the infantry. In the following January, Governor John A. 
Andrew, distinguished as the "war governor" of that state, 
issued an order which was to the effect that all officers and 
men who were not willing to hold themselves in readiness 
to respond immediately to any call which might be made 
upon them by the President should be at once discharged 
and their places filled by others. " Thus it was that Massa- 
chusetts for the second time in her history prepared her 
'minute-men' to take the field at a minute's notice." The 
legislature followed the act of the Governor with an appro- 
priation of $25, 000 for "overcoats, blankets, knapsacks, 200,- 
000 ball cartridges, etc., for two thousand troops." 

The tocsin of war sounded on April 15th, which was obeyed 
by the Governor ordering the 3d, 4th, 6th and 8th regiments 
of infantry to assemble on Boston Common forthwith. This 
was a severe test of the courage and patriotism of some of the 
worthy militiamen of the Bay state. Their almost unanimous 
obedience to the call and their painful sacrifices tell how 
nobly they manifested their faith and devotion to the cause 
of the country they were pledged to defend. 

The first regiment to attest its sincerity with its blood was 
the Sixth Regiment of Volunteers, Colonel Edward F. Jones, 
commander. At a meeting called at the suggestion of Maj.- 
Gen. B. F. Butler, of the officers of the regiment, held at the 
American House, Lowell, January 21, 1861, a resolution 
pledging the services of the regiment to the government was 
unanimously passed. This was one of the first acts of the 
volunteer militia of the countrv offering its services to the 



,3,:" Y ° F CONGRESS 




001 361 544 5 ^ 

24 The First Defenders. 

general government. The response to the call is described 
thus graphically by the historian of the regiment : 

' ' When at length the call came telegrams and expresses 
flew to all parts of the command notifying the members of 
the regiment, some of the officers — Colonel Jones among 
them — riding all night on their patriotic errands. The 
' Middlesex villages and farms ' then heard the pounding of 
hoofs and the alarm cry of danger, as in olden time they had 
listened to the midnight ride of Paul Revere." 

The regiment was scattered through the counties of Middle- 
sex, Essex, Suffolk and Worcester, and in more than thirty 
towns. The call had reached them on the 15th and early 
on the morning of the 16th the bulk of the members had 
assembled. The rest reported at the place of rendezvous 
within a few hours. The city of Lawrence appropriated 
$5,000 for the assistance of the members of its two companies 
and the comfort of their families. 

The regiment left Boston on the evening of April 17th. 
From. New York at noon of the 18th, in the midst of a popu- 
lar ovation, the}' took the train for Washington. From 
Philadelphia at r o'clock A. M. of the 19th, the Sixth, after 
a brief rest took the train for Washington, to plunge in a 
few hours into a seething vortex of raging madness ; a mob 
meeting them with hands nerved by savage hatred, killing 
and maiming a large number of its comrades. The story has 
been many times and often told by eloquent pens. The de- 
tails of the march through Baltimore have become too famil- 
iar to the reader to need repetition at this time. Four youth- 
ful soldiers were slain and thirty-six wounded in Baltimore 
streets. But their blood has been avenged, and as we cele- 
brate the anniversary of the birth of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, we greet with feelings of the deepest regard the 
living remnant of the historic phalanx of First Defenders 
who came from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in 1861 to 
hold up the hands of their loyal brothers in the District of 
Columbia, all together standing for one Country and one Flag. 

Washington, D. C, September 20, 1892. 



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